“No Hope For Survival”, Fayose Reacts To Deepen PDP Crisis

Former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has expressed his displeasure over the recent developments within the Peoples Democratic Party, stressing that the party has no hope of returning to power.

Fayose, who earlier backed the suspension of the PDP National Chairman, Umar Damagum, by a faction of the party, also congratulated the PDP National Vice Chairman (North Central), Mohammed Abdulrahman, on his emergence as the party’s Acting National Chairman.

The former governor stated this while speaking to journalists in Ado Ekiti on Sunday, tasking Abdulrahman with repositioning the party, reconciling aggrieved members at the state level, and beginning preparations for a national convention.

Fayose described PDP, despite its previous record of 16 years of dominance, as being in a “hopeless situation” and “a shadow of itself.”

He said, “The party needs a leader who can reunite everybody at this time. So, I congratulate Abdulrahman, and I want to assure all party members that it is a new beginning. There is no hope of PDP coming back for now. Even the captains of our boat are jumping ship. They are moving from one bed to another. So, who is going to hold the party together?

“PDP has reasonably gone into extinction, unfortunately. The Damagum-led National Working Committee is are undertaker — they have come to bury the party. It will interest you that they are leaving in less than one or two months, yet they are still suspending and counter-suspending members. But you never can tell; you may find a doctor in Abdulrahman who is willing to turn the tables around for the party. Right now, however, the party is in a coma.

“If somebody comes to the rescue and decides to save the party, as in the case of Abdulrahman, we will give him a chance. That’s why I said earlier that he should go and rescue this party. We are happy we have a new acting national chairman, Abdulrahman, who emerged yesterday (Saturday) as a result of the confidence reposed in him after the suspension of the former chairman.

“You will recall that this is the same way former PDP chairman Iyorchia Ayu’s crisis started. Damagum will go the way of Ayu, I can assure you. His last service to the party was before the suspension. Damagum is not going to return to that office as chairman.”

He added, “In the first place, he was not supposed to be the chairman. He only represented an interregnum but manipulated the process to become chairman and caused so much confusion everywhere. It shows that Damagum has been incompetent; he does not have what it takes to operate in that office.

“Therefore, we want to appeal to the new acting chairman, assuring him of the cooperation of all party members and urging him to reposition the party, make all necessary corrections at the state chapters, and prepare for the convention.

“After everybody must have obeyed the last court judgment that congresses must be held in all state chapters before the convention, I stand here to tell the whole world that Abdulrahman will be affirmed by the court so that there will be stability, because due process has been followed in suspending Damagum from that office.”